blue is for BOY!!!!

Hi, my name is Mindy Clark, and I am the worst blogger EVER!! I really want to document my pregnancy here to share with family and friends and to be able to look back on in years to come, but I have not been doing a very good job. It seems like I've been too busy or too tired. So, since I haven't updated in over a month, I'm going to have to backtrack a bit.

The gender poll showed 14 votes for BOY and 16 votes for GIRL.... and guess what?!!! Well, if you're reading this, I've either seen you in the last month, talked/texted you on the phone, or we're facebook friends, so there is no suspense here, but the poll was wrong, it's a BOY!!!! We are absolutely thrilled and are so very excited to meet our little guy!!

However, in order to document properly, I need to back up even more. So, even though most of you know the story, I'm going to tell it anyway.....

March 25

I usually schedule my doctor's appointments in the afternoon so that I don't have to take a day off of school, but for the gender appointment I was way too excited to wait until after school, so the appointment was at 10:00 am. Keith and I enjoyed sleeping in a bit before heading to Columbia. We prayed that our sweet baby was doing well healthy and were anxious to find out if Itty Bitty was a he or a she! We talked about possible names and dreamed together about fun things we would do with a son or daughter.

The ultra sound was amazing once again! We had the first one at 8 weeks, another at 12, then, now, at 20 weeks. It was so neat to see how much our baby grew from one ultra sound to the next. There are not words to describe just now amazing and miraculous it was!! We were able to see lots of teeny tiny body parts this time. The doctor pointed out the heart, kidneys, and lungs. Not only could we hear the heartbeat, but we could also see it pumping. We could see him swallowing. We could see arms, legs, fingers, and toes. At one point during the ultrasound, he lifted his little hand and layed it beside his cheek...so sweet:) God's divine creativity and attention to every detail has never been so clear to me. I am so thankful that God has blessed us with this tiny person to care for and share life with!

Now, about the gender part, Itty Bitty was snuggling with the umbilical cord and hiding his or her parts. The doctor thought he saw something early on, but with the cord between that sweet baby's legs, he wasn't able to confirm it, and as he looked more and more without seeing "it", he said he couldn't be for sure, but it must be a little girl. Though we were overjoyed with the good health of our baby, we couldn't help but be a little disappointed to not be able to name our baby and begin more specific planning and preparing.

The doctor said he would check again at the next appointment, but that was another month away. I told him that my mom and dad were coming to visit over spring break, and we had big plans to work on the nursery while they were here. Our sweet, patient doctor said to come back by sometime in the next couple of weeks, and he would check again. We called our parents and sisters to fill them in on our news and headed to Nashville to relax and enjoy the day together as we browsed fabric and baby stores. I texted everyone in my phone and told them that we weren't 100% sure, but that we were thinking pink. We looked at lots of pink that day, but didn't buy anything. As we headed back towards Columbia, we wondered if that afternoon was too soon to stop by for another ultrasound, so we called and they said come on in!! Yay! Now, we could have a confirmed answer. We were both thinking we had a baby girl but were excited to find out for sure.

The doctor squeezed us in, between other scheduled appointments, only to find that Itty Bitty was crossing his or her legs. We really didn't want to waste our kind doctor's time, but what could we do with our baby, who we decided must either be stubborn or have a good sense of humor. After trying to get the baby to move without success, the doctor told us he needed to see another patient, but that while he was gone, he wanted us to wake that baby up! Keith talked to the baby, told him to wake up, and pushed on my belly until it turned red:) Sure enough, it worked!! When the doctor came back, the legs were spread and there it was!! Our sweet, precious baby was not a little girl, but a BOY!!!!

We were excited to know and begin planning! We had lots of phone calls to make and texts to resend! We headed to Target and Kohls to pick out a couple of little boy outfits to hang in our sweet son's closet. Then, we celebrated with a meal at Olive Garden! I hope our little guy likes OG as much as we do, since that's where we celebrated the news of the pregnancy and the news of his gender:)

I told my kids at school that I would tell them to news at school the next day by wearing blue or pink. So, I got a new blue shirt while we were at Kohls (the picture at the top of the post was from that day). The kids were just as sweet as they could be giving me hugs and congratulations at the news of my sweet son!! Keith wore a blue shirt to church that Sunday to tell anyone there who hadn't heard the news!

We are enjoying the pregnancy so much!! On the Saturday before that doctor's appointment on Thursday, I felt the first BIG movement!! I'd felt little flutters that I thought were him, but that night, there was no question at all...it was him and he was making his presence known!!! It kind of felt like a little fish as swimming around in my belly:) What a special feeling!!! We are thankful to all of the sweet family and friends who have already shared in so much of our excitement. People have been so sweet and thoughtful...asking me how I'm feeling, telling me about their own pregnancies, and explaining just how joyful parenthood is:)

Our hearts are still full of joy and thanksgiving for the miracle growing inside of me!!!

Here are a couple more pictures from week 20! I was excited to be looking preggers that week, instead of just chunky:) I've grown A LOT since then....I'll update again soon and post more updated pictures! My mom, sister, and husband were annoyed that I kept chopping my head off in the belly pics, so these include my face;) I was just trying to zoom in on the growing belly!!

pregnancy update and gender poll!

It's been a while since I've updated, but things are going well. Itty Bitty continues to grow and so do I. I've been feeling well. I've had some sinus headaches, but other than that, I've felt really well. I'm drinking G2 like it's going out of style and eating more than I should be. I've transitioned into mostly maternity clothes, and more and more people are commenting on the fact that I'm showing. The baby is about 6 inches and 8.5 ounces, about the size of a mango! I've felt a few flutters here and there. One day at school, just before my 16 week appointment, I felt butterflies in my stomach. I wasn't nervous about anything, so I decided it must be my sweet baby! It was very exciting:) Since then, I've felt little things here and there. It's difficult to explain, but in the evenings, when I'm sitting still, sometimes I can tell someone is inside me:) Keith has been a sweet husband and daddy, taking good care of me and talking to our sweet baby (he or she can hear us now!!!). It is hard to believe that I'm almost half way through the pregnancy! It has been lots of fun and is going by quickly!

Keith and I are enjoying the last few months of our family of two and are having lots of fun dreaming together about Itty Bitty, talking about names, looking at cribs, and discussing our parenting ideas and techniques.

In just six days, we have a very special doctor's appointment. We get to have another ultrasound and find out what's inside of me...sugar, spice, and everything nice OR snakes, snails, and puppy dog tails. So far, most people have guessed girl, but a few have guessed boy. The Chinese birth calendar and the ring on a string both said girl. I've been thinking girl the whole time, but the last few days, I've kind of been thinking boy. Who knows? There is a poll on the upper right hand side of my blog. Vote and let me know if you think Itty Bitty is a he or a she. Leave a comment to let me know your prediction:) I'll let you know after our appointment on Thursday!

16 weeks

17 weeks

my first day to wear maternity jeans...they really made me show!

18 weeks

I didn't think you could tell as much in a dress, but several people at church commented on my growing belly at church that morning.

19 weeks

wearing the cute "due in august" shirt that jacquie made me:) i need to post a pic where you can actually see the shirt!

Our dear friends, the Graves, made the long journey to Tennessee to visit us this week. We had lots of fun with them. I'll post some pictures of our time together soon.

growing

week 14

(Please excuse the indention...I guess that skirt was getting a bit snug!)

week 15

I continue to feel well! It's hard to believe I'm 16 weeks pregnant!!!! Itty Bitty is about 4.5 inches long and about 3.5 ounces....about the size of an avocado:) Too bad s/he didn't seem to like that guacamole I ate Friday night! Mexican food isn't settling very well lately....in a couple of years, I'll have to teach him/her just how yummy it is:)

We go back to the doctor for another check-up on Thursday. Keith and I are getting excited to feel our sweet baby move before too long and to find out if we have a son or daughter!!

We had more snow last week, so I only worked for three days. It's looking like this will be my first five-day work-week since before Christmas! I hope I can handle it;)

itty bitty is growing!!

We had our 12 week appointment on Thursday to check-up and hear the heart beat, but when the doctor tried to hear the heart beat with the heart monitor, he couldn't find it. I got really nervous, but he was really sweet and said they like to hide when they're this little, so we'd just do an ultra sound instead. I was still pretty nervous, but Keith and the doctor were both very calm. I am so thankful for our doctor. He is calm, confident, friendly, and encouraging!!

We were excited to get to see him/her again, and when he found the baby and the heartbeat right away, I was very relieved and thankful. The heartbeat was 166 at 8 weeks and 160 this time! Keith says Itty Bitty just was just being sneaky and hiding from the doctor so that mama and daddy could see him/her again:)

Here's picture #2!!!! Our sweet baby has grown soooooo much in the four weeks since the last picture....from about a half inch to about 3 inches!!!! Wow!!! Very cool!! S/he is looking like a real baby!!! I never could see much in these ultra sound pics until now....it's funny how easy it is for me to see the tiny little head, body, and arms now that it's my baby...it was even more clear live on the screen. It's difficult to get a clear freeze-frame shot.

The doctor says everything looks great!! Our tiny blessing is growing and changing everyday.

Belly pic #2 at 9 weeks...this is the first day I thought I was beginning to look preggers....it may have just been the horizontal stripes;)
Belly pic #3 at 12 weeks....this is one of the only pairs of pants in my closet that would zip this week. I was thankful that I saved some clothes from before I lost weight a couple of years ago. Keith was sweet and got them down from the attic for me the other day. I was much more comfy in my big pants!!

I am thankful to have felt really well throughout the first 12 weeks. I've heard lots of stories about how sick some people are. I felt queasy for the first several weeks, but that has pretty much stopped now. I have some minor back pain, but nothing too painful. I have been really tired!! I've always been a sleepy head, but pregnancy has taken it to a new level:) When I read about all the things happening in my body and see how much that sweet baby has grown, it is easy to see why I've been tired!!

I haven't had too many crazy cravings. For a while I wanted baked potatoes a lot. Lately, I've been drinking lots of milk and eating way too much peanut butter. I've also been eating lots of apples and bananas...so much so that Keith has been singing me the pre-school song, "I like to eat, eat, eat apples and bananas!" He doesn't sing the whole thing and change the vowel sounds though:( I liked all of these things before I was pregnant but didn't love them. I rarely drank milk or ate peanut butter, and now I have them both at least twice a day...funny!

our sweet baby

On Monday, December 28, we got to have our first ultrasound!!! It was absolutely amazing to see our tiny miracle and hear his or her heart beat!!!! WOW!!! It made us so thankful for God who creates life. Our baby is just about an inch long and already has so many vital organs and body parts. It really was an incredible experience that we will never forget!

My sweet doctor confirmed what we thought was the due date. Right now Baby Clark is scheduled to arrive on August 9, 2010....8-9-10....wouldn't that be a FUN birthday:)

sharing the big news

We debated about how best to share the good news with our parents and sisters. Since it was so close to Christmas and we would see everyone soon, we decided to wait until we could tell them in real life! Keith didn't think I could wait three whole weeks, and I did almost slip when talking to my mom and sister a couple of times...but I did it, and I'm so glad:)

The logical thing was to reveal it with an early Christmas gift, but what should it be??? So many of the things we saw were pink or blue, or they had a specific grandparent name.

We were excited when we found the book, The Gifts of Being Grand for our parents. Their delayed reaction was cute...."Does this mean what we think it means?!!"

For the sisters, we got picture frames with a note inside for Aunt Misty and Aunt Laura to reserve this frame from their future niece or nephew, scheduled to arrive August 2010.

All six of them were thrilled about the new addition to our family!

Telling our families our news was special and telling our friends has been too! Thank you all for being excited for us!! Your sweet hugs, phone calls, emails, kind thoughts on here, and comments on facebook have all made this experience one that we will always treasure!! We are thankful to be able to raise our little one along side such precious family and friends:)

itty bitty

We got our very special news on Tuesday, December 1. After seeing only one line month after month, we were so happy!!! We hugged and cried tears of joy. We celebrated with a quiet evening at home putting up our Christmas tree. We ordered a pregnancy book online and decided to keep our news to ourselves until we could tell our parents in real life.

The next day, we took Belly Pic #1, and I could not stop smiling all day!! I IMed Keith and said, "I just cannot believe there is an itty bitty teeny weeny baby inside me!!!" From then on, Itty Bitty stuck as our fetus name:)
The following Friday night, we celebrated with dinner at Olive Garden and went to Target to browse the baby section and buy our first onesies (a sweet little gender-neutral set that says, i love mommy, i love daddy, and i love hugs)!
Our hearts are heavy for all of the people out there who want a baby so much, but are struggling with infertility. We started trying a year and a half ago, and it felt like a such a long time to wait. It was difficult to see other people get pregnant so easily, especially those who didn't even want a baby. But, we know that a year and a half is nothing compared to the time so many couples pray for a baby. May we remember to be sensitive to the struggles of others as we celebrate our miracle, and may we never tell a young couple that it's about time they have a baby without any knowledge of their situation or the desires of their hearts. I love these thoughts by Josh Ross. May they be a reminder to all of us.

a very merry christmas

In early December, I got to go to a conference in Gatlinburg, so Keith came with me, and we had a blast! Gatlinburg is a super fun place to visit, especially at Christmastime! Everything was beautifully lit up and decorated. We spent the evenings bundled up, walking around town, sipping hot chocolate, chatting, and shopping. It was fabulous:)
Then, we celebrated our sixth anniversary at Chaffin's Barn, a neat dinner theater in Nashville. It was a Christmas comedy set in small town Texas:) We loved it.
Then, we got to travel to Texas and spend Christmas with my family! Yippee! We had the best time relaxing, talking, eating, and playing games together! Then, to top it off, we got a gorgeous snow on Christmas Eve!!!! It was neat, because instead of snowing during the night and melting the next day, it snowed all day, and stuck around for a couple of days, so we had a white Christmas and loved it!!
But, the best, most wonderfully amazing thing about Christmas was.............we got a positive pregnancy test!!!!! We could not be more excited and thankful!!! Our hearts are full!! We are in constant prayer for our itty bitty miracle, and we love him or her soooo very much already!!!!!